Corn-sheller



2 Sheet-Sheet 1. C. U. CRANDALL.

CORN SHELLER.

Patented Feb. 28,1882.

(Model.)

2 Sheets--Sheet. 2.

(Model) G. U'. GRANDALL.

CORN SHELLER.

Ill

EH5, PhawLimo n her. Washington, D. c,

UNITED STATES OYPBIAN U. CRANPALL,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF STERLING, ILLINOIS.

CORN-SHELLERf SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,281, dated February 28, 1882.

' Application filed April 28, 1881. (Model) To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CYPRIAN U. CRANDALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sterling, in the county of W'hiteside and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful 'Imprcvementsin Gorn-Shellers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will :enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in corn-shelling machines in which revolving cylinders operate in conjunction with a self-adjusting and oscillating follower or rag-iron; and the objects of my improvements are, first,

to provide a cheap corn-sheller; second, one that is easily operated; third, one that is durable, simple, and compact; fourth, one that will shell perfectly and separate the corn from the cob without cobrake or cob-spout of any kind. 'I attain these objects by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine as it appears with the upper part of the case or jacket with the devices attached thereto removed. Fig. 2 is a side view of the machine with a portion of the case or jacket cut away to expose the shelling-cylinders, the follower or rag-iron, the spring which regulates the pressure of the rag-iron or follower upon the ear, the tube which contains such spring, the tube-plate upon or in which rests such tube, and the partition or stop which extends through the length of the machine above the two cylinders. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section through the line 00 w in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a detached view of a wire-cloth panel which is placed over an opening in the side of the jacket. Fig. 5 is a detached view of the ragiron or follower and tube-plate, showing the side next to the partition or stop and showing the track or guides which control the direction named view, is an enlarged sectional view of the thimble mentioned.

The same letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.-

The frame A, Fig. 1, forms the lower part of the jacket or case of the machine. Into it are sunk the lower part of the boxes or bearings of thejournals of the cylinders B and G and the transverse shaft D. The lugs a a a a on frame A fit into corresponding notches in the upper part of the jacket, and serve to prevent the latter from moving horizontally in the frame.

The frame A, as shown in Fig. 2, is higher at its front side, or that toward which the feedaperture Z is placed, than at the opposite side, in order to give an inclination to the rollers, which will facilitate the passage of the ears of corn toward the cob-outlet l.

The upper part of the case or jacket E is provided with boxes corresponding to those in frame A. These complete the bearings for cylinders B and O and the transverse shaft D.

The shaft D is geared to the cylinders B and U by means of the miter-gears h h h h. Cylinder Bis made of greater diameter than cylinder O to give its face a greater velocity than that of cylinder 0, and is provided with projections or knives ff, set in rows parallel with the axis of the cylinder. These knives are all arranged perpendicularly to the axis of such cylinder,- but obliquely on its surface The knives in one row, though arranged in the same general direction, are not set at the same angle as those in either row next to it, Figs. 1 and 2, thus making the action of the cylinder upon the ear more intermittent and efficient. The knives or projections set at the least angle to the circumference above mentioned have a tendency to feed the ear forward, while the adjoining row of knives, set at a greater angle, strike the corn and scrape it from the cob. The knives set at a greater angle also aid in rotating the ear, so that the diii'erent parts of its surface are in turn brought in contact with the knives.

Cylinder O is also provided with knives g g, which are arranged and set in the same manner as knivesff on cylinder B. They are of about the same height, but are not so long as the knives on cylinder B. The chief function of cylinder 0 is to force the ear against the shelling-cylinder B by means of its knives, and also to assist in forcing the ear forward and scraping the corn from the ear.

It will be observed that I make no attempt to arrange the knivesff and g g spirally on the cylinders B and O, and that I do not mean to make such arrangement a feature of my device.

E, Figs. 2 and 3, is a case or jacket, which rises over the cylinders B and G in the form of an irregular arch, b, Fig. 3. The ends of the jacket are nearly perpendicular, Fig.2, and one end is provided with an opening, Z, and the other end with the opening I, the first for the admission of the ear and the last for the exit of the cob.

F, Figs. 2, 3, and 5, is the follower or ragiron, provided with a flat rocker-shaped surface with ribs or corrugations running diagonally across its under surface to prevent the ear from rotating too freely while the cylinders B and O are operating upon such ear. The follower F is placed above and parallel with the cylinders B and C, Fig. 2, and is leaned toward the cylinder B sufficiently to bring the corrugated surface about at right angles to the nearest part of the surface of said cylinder, Fig. 3.

Extending upward nearly at right angles and near each end of the follower is a rigid arm,c. These arms rest between the partition G and the tube-plate H, Figs. 2 and 3, and on the tube-plate H, on the outside and near the base of each arm 0, is the lug 0, Fig. 5. The partition G and the tube-plate H fit closely against the arms 0, while the lugs 0 are set far enough away to allow a little play, not enough, however, to admit any considerable movement of the follower F in a direction parallel to the cylinders B and O. The only movement which I desire the follower to make, then, is to slide upward bodily; or one end may slide upward while the other end makes a corresponding downward movement. The spring (1 in the tube m rests against the middle portion of the follower F, and is adjusted by means of the thumb-screw e. The thimble a has a flange or shoulder around it to engage the spring (I when it is set into such spring, and receives the end of vthe thumb-screw e.

The upper end of the arms a c are provided with the holes p to receive pins or cotters, which will rest on the tube-plate H and the partition-plate G at the points 7c 7r, Fig. 2. These cotters or pins prevent the spring at from pressing the follower F down too far. When an ear of corn enters the sheller it is pushed against theend of the follower F, and the spring at yields to allow the end of the follower to rise. As the ear is fed forward it raises the entire rag-iron or follower. When it has passed far enough the end of the follower next the hole Z is allowed to fall again, and when the ear (or what will then be the eob).has passed out of the body of the sheller the entire follower will again resume its former position.

As above stated, the follower F is capable of making two movements, one in a direction from and toward the cylinders and the other an oscillating movement. These two movements may also and do combine themselves into a compound movement. In the oscillating movement the follower is pivoted upon the lower coils of the spring d.

The partition-plate G, Figs. 2 and 3,is placed lengthwise through the space abo e the cylinders B and 0. Its principal function is to form a stop next to the follower F, to prevent the ear from being drawn over cylinder B into the space beyond the -follower and out of the grasp of the follower. It also makes a part of the track for the follower-arms c c.

L in Fig. 2 is a feeding-hopper placed over the feeding-hole Z, of sufficient length and diameter to feed the corn as fast as may be required.

The wire-cloth panel I (shown in Fig. 4) is placed over the openings I I by any suitable means, Fig. 3. This enables the operator to see the working of the internal devices at all times, and it may be removed readily in case of difficulty in the machine.

The operation of my machine is as follows: The power is applied to the transverse shaft D, and by means of the miter-gears h h h h the cylinders B and O are revolved both in the same direction. The upper surface of cylinder 0 moves toward the upper surface of cylinder B. The corn is fed through the tube or hopper I1 between the cylinders B and O and the oscillating self adjustable follower F, the thumb-screw e governing the tension of such follower. The corn is stripped from the cob and the cob passed out through the hole 1. The corn and cob are completely separated within the sheller, the corn as itis scraped from the cob being thrown laterally by the cylinders and dropping down through the open bed or frame A, Fig. 1.

The cylinders, knives, and follower, constructed as herein described, operate with such efficiency and vigor that the parts may be made much smaller than in ordinary shellers and yet shell fast. In a machine with which I have been experimenting the two cylinders are six and one-halfinches long, B is four inches and 0 two and one-half inches in diameter, and the jacket and other parts are correspondingly small. At one thousand revolutions per minute this machine shells fifty bushels per hour.

1 am aware that cylinders have heretofore been used in corn-shellin g machines, and therefore I do not broadly claim them as my invention; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a corn-sheller, the combination, with the stationary but yieldin g rag-iron or follower, of the rotary cylinders provided with theknives or projections f and g, respectively, the knives or projections in any one longitudinal row beingall arranged at substantially the same angle, which is difi'erent from, though in the same general direction with, the angle of the knives or projections in the rows at each side of it, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a corn-shelle-r, the casing composed of the frame A, having one side higher than. the other, and the jacket E, provided with the feed and discharge openings, in combination with the bladed or toothed cylinders mounted in said jacket and inclined, as described, from the feed to the discharge opening, for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the cylinders and the rag-iron arranged opposite said cylinders, 05 the spring d, bearin g upon the center of said rag-bar, and the tube m, in which said spring is supported, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the oscillating spring-pressed rag-iron, provided with the lugs c c, and the jacket having slots for the passage of said lugs, of the plate H projecting from the top of the jacket and provided with stops for said lugs, substantially as described.

'5. The jacket having the partition-plate or stop G, and the tube-plate H, in combination with the spring-pressed rag-iron, having the lugs c c projecting between said plates and through slots in the top of the j ackgt, substantially as described.

' In testimony whereofl afiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- C. U. CRANDALL.

Witnesses: Q

JAMES ADAMS, J. B. CRANDALL. 

